Chapter 129 - 119: System Announcement

Yin Zhen opened the forum for the first time in ages. The Player count had already climbed to 1,320.

Mostly because of the 1,000 new Players added this round — they’d barely been in the Red Corpse World for ten minutes before the world ended, so every single one of them made it out alive.

The forum was buzzing with all kinds of new posts, but four threads stayed permanently pinned at the top.

[System Announcement]: Congratulations to Player ’Blossoming Prosperity’ for terminating the Red Corpse World main storyline. Rewards: 100,000 word count, Unique Item: World’s Last Will, Exclusive Title: Disobedient Cannon Fodder, +50 distributable attribute points. All Ancient Abyss Players receive the Victor’s Blessing: +1,000 word count, +5 distributable attribute points.

[System Announcement]: Congratulations to Player ’Blossoming Prosperity’ for completing the Golden Event Card: Sacrifice. Rewards: 100,000 word count, Golden Items ×3, Exclusive Privilege ×1.

[System Announcement]: Congratulations to Player ’Blossoming Prosperity’ for claiming MVP of this game. Reward: Luminous Prop ×1.

[System Announcement]: The Ancient Abyss World Level has been upgraded from E-level to D-level. The forum has been upgraded and new features are now available — Players are encouraged to explore them at their own pace. Settlement rewards based on individual performance throughout the game have been distributed. Please check your accounts.

[System Announcement]: The next round of the game will begin in 15 Ancient Abyss days. All Players may retain their Character Cards. Enjoy some well-earned downtime.

Seeing her username plastered all over the forum, Yin Zhen frowned. Her inbox was practically exploding — nothing but greetings from new Players. Fortunately, the upgraded forum now had an option to block messages from strangers, along with a friend-request feature.

Yin Zhen sent Bai Qiang a friend request, then blocked everyone else.

The forum had also launched a public chat channel. Players could now form squads with each other — capped at three members, no designated leader, everything handled on equal footing, with a dedicated squad chat channel to boot.

On top of that, the shop was now open. Yin Zhen browsed through it briefly. Items were sorted into Golden, Silver, and standard tiers — no Luminous Props in sight.

Items were purchased with word count. Golden Items were all priced in the tens of thousands and were scarce, though many she’d used before were listed there — the Universal Key, for instance. Items obtained through special channels, like the Auditor’s Work Certificate or the Residual Sound Blade, were nowhere to be found.

The Duplication Card she’d been wanting for a long time wasn’t listed either. If it had been, she would have bought one on the spot just to copy the Blood Source Resonance from her Character Card onto her real self.

Speaking of which — now that the Red Corpse World had ended, the cooldowns on her Blood Source Resonance, along with every Title, Skill, and Item that had been on cooldown in the Red Corpse World, all reset at once. Every incomplete event had also vanished without penalty.

Yin Zhen recalled that the Shadow Servant was also a Golden Item, and it wasn’t in the shop either. Maybe it had been a one-of-a-kind reward the system had given exclusively to the Villain from the start.

Silver Items were priced in the thousands, while standard Items were one-time-use consumables available for just a few hundred word count each — the most plentiful category, with wildly varied functions.

According to the Explanation, all Items in the shop had been discovered by Players during their exploration of the Red Corpse World. The same rule would apply to new Items going forward — they had to be found in the field first before they could be added to the shop.

Yin Zhen checked her own system announcement log. She’d earned 200,000 word count this round, but because she’d already inherited the Villain Card, she was ineligible for the Protagonist Card. Her First Identity Card had been upgraded to a Silver Card, making her a major supporting Character.

Previously, when her card had been downgraded from Copper to Gray, the Talent ’I’m afraid of myself when I go crazy’ had disappeared. Now that she’d upgraded to a Silver Card, that Talent was back — and she’d also gained one opportunity to draw a new Silver Card Talent.

She’d sort through the rest of the rewards later. For now, Yin Zhen scrolled through the newly opened chat channel.

[Scallion out of the Earth]: What the hell what the hell WHAT THE HELL?? I hadn’t even figured out what was going on and the system just pops up to say the world ended?? So my first-ever transmigration was basically a free vacation?? I didn’t even get to experience a cyberpunk nightclub! And my settlement rewards were absolute jack squat!!

[Legs 1.8 meters]: Same (awkward)

[I’m lost]: Same (awkward)

[Wind-dried cattle and horses]: Queen! Starting today, I’m the lost leg-attachment you never knew you had! Please carry me!!

[The party of evidence will never admit defeat]: Did Blossoming Prosperity complete the Golden Event Card on her own? Whose sacrifice did she orchestrate? Does anyone remember that thread about ’Winter Night Fire’ dying? A lot of people guessed Winter Night was the supreme commander of Guan City — please tell me it’s not what I’m thinking.

[Qiuzi Stealing Life]: Did you guys not notice that the system gave her the exclusive title ’Disobedient Cannon Fodder’? This absolutely unhinged queen is just a cannon fodder Identity?? I cannot believe this.

[Watermelon So Cold]: Right?? A cannon fodder who cleared the world-ending main storyline + Golden Event Card + MVP all in one go. I’m a Copper Card Player and I can barely scrape through a single Copper Card exclusive event. She’s on a different level entirely!

[Legs 1.8 meters]: I don’t care, I want to latch onto her coattails. Queen, are you seeing this? Whether you’re online or not — next round, please let me be your sidekick!

[Scallion out of the Earth]: +1

[Wind-dried cattle and horses]: +1

[Watermelon So Cold]: +1

[I’m lost]: +1

[The party of evidence will never admit defeat]: Can you all stop simping for two seconds? Also, did anyone notice the Ancient Abyss World Level just jumped from E to D? And the system said the next round starts in fifteen days and we get to keep our Character Cards — which means we can’t quit this game, and we’re just going to get thrown into another world next round, aren’t we?

[Hua, the Left-Handed Killer]: Why would you want to quit? Things are pretty good right now, aren’t they?

[Legs 1.8 meters]: Does E-level to D-level mean the difficulty’s going up? What kind of insane world are we getting thrown into next? Zombies? Natural disasters? Supernatural horror?

[Watermelon So Cold]: Betting on zombies! My Extraordinary Ability would absolutely wreck!

[The party of evidence will never admit defeat]: Can you all be serious for one minute? The system said Character Cards are kept, but it never said we’d be able to bring our current Character Card into the next world. What if everyone gets a brand-new Character next round with a blank-slate Identity?

[I’m lost]: That’s a fair point! Oh no, oh no — I should’ve put my attribute points into my real self. Someone please find me a respec Item!

[Legs 1.8 meters]: (crying) Same, please!!

[Hua, the Left-Handed Killer]: Did none of you read the official info post by ’Naming is Too Troublesome’? It literally says to put your attribute points into your real self whenever possible. You’re all idiots!

[I’m lost]: What the hell, who are you calling an idiot — come say that to my face, West Street, right now, I’ll fight you!

[Legs 1.8 meters]: Count me in, let’s get her!

[The party of evidence will never admit defeat]: I have one more question. Fine, the Red Corpse World is over — but if we equip a Character Card and bite someone, will that person still turn into a Blood Clan member? Is anyone from the official side watching? Has anyone tested this?

Yin Zhen’s gaze lingered on that last message for a few seconds. It was something she’d wondered about herself.

If the answer was yes — did that mean the Blood Plague was truly over?

But that was the system’s problem to worry about, not hers.

She kept scrolling and found something new: Players were no longer confined to Guan City. One Player who had joined the game during their third transmigration was already on a high-speed train to another city, and the system hadn’t stopped them at all.

So the map of Ancient Abyss had expanded, and the world itself felt more real now. Had it somehow absorbed power from the Red Corpse World?

"System — you confirmed that Chi Hai’s invasion has been completely terminated. But what about the changes Chi Hai already made to Ancient Abyss?"

[The Red Corpse World has ended and will no longer affect Ancient Abyss going forward. However, changes that have already taken place will not be undone.]

Yin Zhen suddenly thought of the note Zoe had left behind. She walked quickly to her bedroom, pulled open a drawer, and rummaged through it until she found the slip of paper Zoe had written.

She took a slow, deep breath, then unfolded the note. When she read what was written there, she went still.

[I hope you become the happiest person in the world. (smiley face)]

Yin Zhen looked down at the Pet Machine hanging from her. "Did she write this from the beginning? Or did the contents change after the Red Corpse World ended?"

The Pet Machine gave a small vibration. The egg inside rolled into a corner, and a little emoji with hands over its eyes floated up.

Yin Zhen looked again at the ink blot at the very start of the message — a hesitation mark, left before the writing began — and she understood. Zoe had never written down coordinates. From the very moment she put pen to paper, she had already been turning over the idea of sacrificing herself if it came to that. Those days when she’d seemed so preoccupied — that was what she’d been quietly thinking through.

She had hidden it so well. Yin Zhen hadn’t caught a single sign of it, because every time they discussed strategy, Zoe had been completely present — focused, engaged, and full of energy.

Yin Zhen didn’t say anything. She took out an old journal she’d kept, smoothed the note carefully flat, and tucked it between the pages.

After a moment’s thought, she decided she needed to make a trip to Sea City — to see what changes had already taken root there, and to bring Zoe along to search for whether another Ian might already exist somewhere in Ancient Abyss.

She walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. The empty space hit her all at once, and she suddenly realized — she’d completely forgotten to let Lucy out.